Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral and the White Cliffs of Dover

Before I went on my trip to Norway, I had went several places on day trips. A few places I had already been to, but still I think you can go to places many times and still experience something new. In this particular section, I'm going to tell you about Canterbury Cathedral, mecca and murder!

Canterbury Cathedral history stretches back more than 1,400 years when Pope Gregory the Great sent a monk to England as a missionary. The monk, Augustine, established his monastery and became England's first Archbishop. It is said to have been a medieval pilgrimage and even today, the Cathedral is known as the Mother church for Anglican worshipers. The Cathedral, however, is not without scandal! In 1170, Thomas Becket was murdered in the Cathedral under the orders of King Henry II. The spot in which he was murdered is now name The Martyrdom. It also houses the royal tombs of King Henry the IV and Edward, Prince of Wales, or otherwise known as the 'Black Prince'.

The Cathedral is stunning from the architecture to the statues and stained glass windows. It is quite a thing to behold. It is still a working church and costs more than £18,500 per day to maintain!

After visiting the Cathedral, we drove the short distance to Dover to see the White Cliff and enjoy the spectacular views, including views of the Dover Castle.

Punting in Cambridge

Punting in Cambridge, what can I say about it? The day we went, the weather was beautiful, bright sunny skies which in my opinion made it the perfect day for letting someone do all the work whilst you sit back, relax, and enjoy a tranquil ride down the River Cam.

It's about a 40-45 min tour in which you can take in stunning and spectacular views of the multitude of Cambridge schools such as Cambridge University, King's College, and Trinity College, see the King's College Chapel, the Bridge of Sighs and even some ducks and geese! A lot of the guides are university/college students and have pretty good knowledge of the schools' history, famous people such as Oliver Cromwell, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Charles Darwin and Issac Newton, as well as some interesting tales such as the wealthy lady whose husbands would mysteriously die shortly after marrying!

Since coming back from Norway, I went back to London to see Mamma Mia! It was amazing, to say the least! I've always wanted to see a theater production, and it was brilliant! I can't wait to see more such as Wicked, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, The Lion King... Well, will have to figure out what to do next!

Norway

I am very fortunate and thankful to have had the opportunity to travel to Norway with my grandfather via a cruise. I have always wanted to visit Norway as part of my heritage hails from Norway and have grown up hearing of Norwegian ways and traditions from "Uffda" to lefsa to geitost! We sailed from Harwich, England on a 7 day cruise of the Norwegian Fjords, stopping in Bergen, Geiranger, Alesund, and Eidfjord. 

Norway

The name Norway means "path to the north".

Norway has had an interesting history from the era of the Vikings to kings and unions with neighbor countries. The country is perhaps known best for being the motherland to some of the most notorious Vikings that raided and settled many countries from England, Scotland, Ireland, to as far south as Spain! It's also said that the royal line is descendant from William the Conqueror who invaded England in 1066! Imagine the Queen of England, a viking! 

After the Vikings, for a time (nearly 500 years), Norway was under the rule of Denmark until 1814. After the Napoleonic War, Denmark siding with Napoleon and Sweden siding with Britain, Sweden came out on the side of victory, decided it wanted Norway. To the victor goes the spoils of war! Norway went with Sweden, but only after the Norwegians drafted a constitution to be upheld by the Swedes. Norway remained part of Sweden until 1905 when it broke off to become its own country.

Between the late 1800s and early 1900s, Norway lost about 1/3 of it's population due to migration to the US and Canada! It is estimated that almost the same number of Norwegians live in the U.S. as there are in Norway (and mostly the northern areas such as Michigan and Minnesota). Norway has also become a very rich country since 1969 when oil was discovered and is one of the leading exports of oil, especially to the UK and European countries.

Other facts

Language: Norwegian

Capital: Norway has had three capitals, Trondheim, Bergen, and finally Oslo.

Population: approx. 5.5 million people (total population).

Unemployment rate: about 4%

Currency is the Krone (NOK).

Religion: Christianity/Lutheran, but some of the natives believe in the magic of Trolls!

Scandinavian countries include: Norway, Denmark, and Sweden

Nordic countries include the Scandinavian countries plus Finland and Iceland

Bergen

"Ha en flott dag i Bergen"- Norwegian for have a wonderful day in Bergen

Bergen is the 2nd largest city in Norway with approx. 285,000 people. The Oslo metro area is the first with approx. 1 million (approx 650,000 in just Oslo)! I was imagining all the stops to be small fishing villages, but Bergen was a rather large city! We took a bus tour of Bergen and got to hear lots of great information, facts, and tales about Bergen (and Norway in general). Did you know it rains an average of 260 days per year and accumulates about 3,000 millimeters of rain!

Bergen is the home of a famous composer and pianist in the late 1800s, Edvard Grieg.

There's a monument in remembrance of nearly 400 "witches" that were burned during Norway's own witch trials!

In WWII, Norway was occupied by the Germans when a fishing vessel confiscated by the Germans arrived in Bergen carrying a vast amount of explosives. It is said, resistance to the Germans decided to blow the ship and prevent it from reaching Germany (on Hilter's birthday, no less!). They were successful in blowing up the ship; however, the tidal wave that resulted leveled many of the houses and shops near the harbor and led to some fires spreading and destroying others.

After our bus tour, we rode the funicular (a vertical train) to the top Mt. Fløien for a panoramic view of Bergen. Mt. Fløien is 1,200ft. above sea level and offers some pretty amazing views. We then walked around the Bergen fish market before heading back to the ship.

photo credit: JAB

Geiranger

Unfortunately, I was sick the day we were to go ashore to Geiranger so there is not much information that I can offer on the town. However, it is known for its fjord and waterfalls De Syv Søstre, better known as the Seven Sisters. The Eagle Road in steepest stretch of road up the mountain side. My grandfather took a RIB (rigid inflatable boat) cruise and got up close to the Seven Sisters waterfall and another known as the Bridal Veil.

I am sad I missed some spectacular scenery, but the day did not spoil the trip and the very next day, I was all set and excited for our next port.

photo credit: JAB

photo credit: JAB

photo credit: JAB

photo credit: JAB

Alesund

Known as the answer to Italy's Venice, and one of Norway's most important fishing harbor, Alesund is a quaint city on the sea surrounded by small fishing villages on various islands. Rather than building numerous bridges, tunnels run under the water, some that are 200 meters below. We took a bus tour through Alesund as well as the Islands of Giske and Godøy, the little fishing village of Alnes, and up to Mount Aksla

The Island of Giske has a population of approximately 400 people! The Giske Chapel, partially built of white marble (also known as the Marble Church) was declared a pilgrimage by the Pope Clement around 1345. Crosses are etched into the east wall that visitors were to kiss in turn receiving penance. It is unknown when the church was actually built, but was documented in writings around the 1300s.

On the Island of Godøy, there is a mountain peak that up until 1640, was used to carry out death sentences. If sentenced to death, the person would be taken to the top and pushed! There is also a very nice looking lighthouse as well.

From the town center, one can climb 418 steps to the top of Mount Aksla, or one can drive up on a road built during WWII by Polish and Russian POWs. Amazing views are to be had of Alesund and the surrounding villages. On the drive up, there are still old WWII bunkers scattered along the road.

Eidfjord

Eidfjord welcomes close to 500,000 visitors each year though only approximately 900 people reside in the city. In my opinion, Eidfjord was the most spectacular port. We got up early and spent nearly two hours snapping pictures of our journey into the Hardanger fjord before docking at the small village. The scenery is spectacular and pictures and words would not do the gorgeous views the justice they deserve.

We took a drive through the Måbødalen Valley (and many tunnels blasted through the mountain rock) to see the Hardanger Mountain Plateau, stopping to see the spectacular Vøringsfossen Waterfall and the Sysen Dam. The Vøringsfossen Waterfall towers 597 feet from the top. The drive, for the most part, ran alongside a river stemming from the waterfall and controlled by the dam. There were so many picturesque views from the splendid nature to the farmlands and homes. From the dam, on a clear day, one can see a great glacier, the Hardangerjøkulen Glacier. Unfortunately, there were quite a many clouds that blocked our view, but I still don't believe the view to be less than mesmerizing!

Some of the houses still utilize sod roof which is a typical Scandinavian roof comprised of sod on top of layers of birch bark. Birch bark is very watertight. It's like a garden on the roof tops. I can just imagine someone talking to their husband, "Honey, the roof needs to be mowed! Please be careful, wouldn't want you breaking your other leg, or mowing over yourself over again!"

Norway is very steeped in tradition; very unspoiled in my opinion, and a true hidden gem from the world! I think I could live on a remote island only accessible by boat... While I do not think I would be able to handle the cold, the scenery would be worth moving for, or at least vacationing!

"God natt"- Goodnight